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QUAKER SCHOOL
GIRL SAMPLERS FROM ACKWORTH
by Carol Humphrey
 In
addition to over 200 pictures of Ackworth samplers (approximately
half of them from the school, the other half from museums and
private collections), full text detailing the background, history,
and lives of the girls who made the samplers is included. Inside the
book jacket, there is a charted pattern for a new medallion sampler.
The book measures 10" x 12", and is 250 pages. $85.00
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 STITCHED
IN ADVERSITY: Samplers of the Poor
In this historical exhibition ' Stitched In Adversity' a number of
these beautifully stitched examples are on show. A sampler worked by
Susannah Carter ' In the asylum' in 1800, is one such piece, with a
text beginning
'We are orphans and fatherless
We have no parents but our god.......'
Also depicted on this sampler is a red brick building with a young
girl in the doorway alongside a poignant image of another face
peering out of a top window at the world below, these simple images
produce an air of forlorn desolation and are immensely moving.
In 1742 Captain Thomas Coram, a master mariner and philanthropist,
established The London Foundling Hospital from which one exquisite
tiny christening pillow, stitched with hair, will be featured .
Amongst the most recognizable orphanage samplers are those worked in
the Bristol homes founded by George Muller in 1836. By 1870 over
2,000 orphans were housed in his premises. A superbly worked sampler
dated 1874 by Charlotte Eleanor Cullum would have been used to
demonstrate her sewing skills to future employers as well as
providing her with a repertoire of sewing stitches which she could
use for future reference.
Cheltenham Female Orphan Asylum also taught fine needlework. In 1806
their stated aim was to 'clothe, maintain and educate female orphans
and other female children of the poor. To inculcate into their
tender minds such principals of religion and morality, to rescue
them from the contamination of idleness and vice and train them up
in the habit of industrious and cheerful obedience, by instructing
them in such kinds of housework as may qualify them for servants in
respectable households'.
Other samplers in this fascinating exhibition include examples from
Raines Asylum, Dover Charity School, Greenwich Union Infirmary, The
Orphan School Calcutta and Hull Infirmary etc.
Whilst needlework was the foundation stone of female education and
an important activity for daughters of the middle classes, samplers
were worked by all strata of society. Some of the finest work to
survive is that produced by the poorest girls in the most adverse
conditions.. This work produced in poor houses, orphanages, charity
schools and asylums can provide us with some of the most moving
tributes to female endeavor in the 18th and 19th centuries.. For
these children being skilled with a needle was a passport to a
better life.
This latest full color catalogue from Witney Antiques features
samplers made by orphans and other less fortunate individuals, in
18th and 19th century England.
$40.00
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DRESS AT THE COURT OF KING HENRY
VIII
by Maria Hayward
 Henry
VIII used his wardrobe, and that of his family and
household, as a way of expressing his wealth and
magnificence. This book encompasses the first detailed
study of male and female dress worn at the court of
Henry VIII (1509-47) and covers the dress of the king
and his immediate family, the royal household and the
broader court circle. Henry VIII's wardrobe is set in
context by a study of his father, Henry VII's clothes,
court and household.
As none of Henry VIII's clothes survive, evidence is
drawn primarily from the great wardrobe accounts,
wardrobe warrants, and inventories, and is interpreted
using evidence from narrative sources, paintings,
drawings, and a small selection of contemporary
garments, mainly from European collections.
Key areas for consideration include the king's personal
wardrobe, how Henry VIII's queens used their clothes to
define their status, the textiles provided for the
pattern of royal coronations, marriages and funerals and
the role of the great wardrobe, wardrobe of the robes
and laundry. In addition there is information on the cut
and construction of garments, materials, and colors,
dress given as gifts, the function of livery and the
hierarchy of dress within the royal household, and the
network of craftsmen working for the court. The text is
accompanied by full transcripts of James Worsley's
wardrobe books of 1516 and 1521 which provide a brief
glimpse of the king's clothes.
LIMITED EDITION
PAPER WITHIN CLOTH OUTER FOLDER
458 PAGES
$140.00
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'Tis Education
Forms the Common Mind: Schools, Scholars and Seminaries
 This
is the newest exhibition catalogue from Witney Antiques, in which
groups of samplers have been linked together. Samplers worked under
the tutelage of certain teachers are illustrated, and over the
course of time new examples have been found, as in the case of
Frances Owen and Dorcas Haynes (Fitzwilliam Museum), Catherine
Winbush and Elizabeth Harris (Lady Lever Art Gallery), the "Angel
and Tree" band samplers and two examples from Miss Gregson's
Seminary. Also included in the exhibition are samplers from named
schools and teachers not previously researched. A variety of
distinctive samplers have emerged from this study, many the products
of formal instruction from previously unknown schools or as
additions to established groups. Samplers still exist in
considerable numbers, reflecting the talents of these innumerable
teachers and their pupils over a span of four hundred years; however
many of the often anonymous teachers are long forgotten, their
talents expressed through the work of their students. While many
samplers were worked in schools, others were stitched in the home
under the guidance of a relative or governess. Some were the
products of one sole instructress, others are the results of one
teacher's efforts being expanded or copied by a student and passed
to the next generation, thus sometimes very closely related designs
can be seen stretching over a broad period of time.
Softbound, $45.00
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